Sheet determination apparatus using ultrasonic wave transmitting unit or reception unit

ABSTRACT

A protection member is arranged such that the distance from an opening plane of a reception guide to the center of the protection member is half of the distance from the opening plane of the reception guide to the surface of a reception vibration member. In other words, the arrangement position of the protection member is in the center between the opening plane of the reception guide and the surface of the reception vibration member. Accordingly, even if a protection member is arranged, a transmission coefficient is obtained that is equal to a transmission coefficient in the case where no protection member is present.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to an ultrasonic wave transmitting unit orreception unit, a sheet determination apparatus, and an image formingapparatus.

Description of the Related Art

Image forming apparatuses such as multi-function printers and laserprinters use an ultrasonic wave sensor to determine the type of a sheetinside of the image forming apparatus and set image formation conditionssuch as transfer conditions and fixing conditions according to thedetermination result. Incidentally, there are cases where ultrasonicwaves transmitted from a transmission unit are reflected multiple timesand received by a reception unit. Reflection can occur due to a sheet,and also due to members in the periphery of the transmission unit andthe reception unit, such as conveyance rollers and conveyance guides forconveying the sheet.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-351141 proposes attaching sonic waveguides by which sonic waves converge respectively at a wave transmitterand at a wave receiver. Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2010-018432proposes determining the length of guides based on the wavelength of theultrasonic waves so as to stabilize the output of ultrasonic waves thathave passed through a recording medium.

Incidentally, there are cases where the ultrasonic wave sensor isarranged at a position at which a user can touch it with his or herfingers. Since an ultrasonic wave sensor transmits and receivesultrasonic waves due to a vibration member vibrating, if the vibrationmember is touched by a user, it cannot operate normally. Sometimes thereare also cases where the ultrasonic wave sensor malfunctions.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In view of this, the present invention makes it difficult for a user totouch the vibrating member of at least one of a transmission unit and areception unit for ultrasonic waves.

The present invention provides an ultrasonic wavetransmission/generating unit comprising the following elements. Avibration member vibrates so as to transmit ultrasonic waves. A guidemember guides ultrasonic waves transmitted from the vibration member. Aprotection member protects the vibration member and that is provided inthe guide member, wherein in a direction on a line that passes throughthe center of the vibration member and is perpendicular to a surface ona side of the vibration member that transmits ultrasonic waves, a partof the vibration member overlaps the protection member.

The present invention also provides an ultrasonic wave reception unitcomprising the following elements. A vibration member vibrates byreceiving ultrasonic waves. A guide member guides ultrasonic waves tothe vibration member. A protection member protects the vibration memberand that is provided in the guide member, wherein in a direction on aline that passes through the center of the vibration member and isperpendicular to a surface on a side of the vibration member thatreceives ultrasonic waves, a part of the vibration member overlaps theprotection member.

Further features of the present invention will become apparent from thefollowing description of exemplary embodiments with reference to theattached drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram of an overall configuration of an image formingapparatus.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a control unit and an ultrasonic wavesensor that constitute a sheet determination apparatus.

FIGS. 3A to 3C are diagrams showing a configuration of an ultrasonicwave reception unit.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a relationship between the arrangementposition of a protection member and a transmission coefficient.

FIGS. 5A to 5C are diagrams showing a composite of multiple reflectionwaves.

FIGS. 6A to 6C are diagrams showing a configuration of an ultrasonicwave reception unit.

FIGS. 7A to 7C are diagrams showing a configuration of an ultrasonicwave transmission unit.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a relationship between the arrangementposition of a protection member and a transmission coefficient.

FIGS. 9A to 9C are diagrams showing a configuration of an ultrasonicwave transmission unit.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the relationship between the arrangementposition of a protection member and a transmission coefficient.

FIGS. 11A to 11D are diagrams showing other examples of protectionmembers.

FIGS. 12A and 12B are plain views of the ultrasonic wave transmissionunit 31 and the ultrasonic wave reception unit 32.

FIG. 12C is an A-A sectional view corresponding to the plain view ofFIG. 12A.

FIG. 12D is an A-A sectional view corresponding to the plain view ofFIG. 12B.

DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

Hereinafter, embodiments of the invention will be described withreference to the drawings. It should be noted that the followingembodiments are not intended to limit the invention recited in theclaims, and all combinations of features described in the embodimentsare not necessarily mandatory as solutions provided by the invention.

First Embodiment

A sheet determination apparatus of the present embodiment can be used inan image forming apparatus such as a multi-function printer or aprinter, for example. As an example of this, FIG. 1 shows an imageforming apparatus 1 equipped with a sheet determination apparatus. Inthe image forming apparatus 1, multiple image forming units are arrangedin a line, and toner images are transferred onto a sheet by anintermediate transfer member. In this example, the image forming unitsform an image using yellow, magenta, cyan, and black toner imagesrespectively.

A sheet P is fed by feed rollers 4 a and 4 b that feed sheets from afeed cassette 2 or a feed tray 3. A conveyance roller 5 conveys thesheet P from the upstream side to the downstream side in the conveyancedirection of the sheet P. An ultrasonic wave sensor 30 includes anultrasonic wave transmission unit 31 and an ultrasonic wave receptionunit 32 and detects ultrasonic waves corresponding to the type(grammage, thickness, etc.) of the sheet P. Based on the detectionresult of the ultrasonic wave sensor 30, a control unit 10 determinesthe type (grammage, thickness, etc.) of the sheet P and controls thefixing temperature of a fixing unit 21. The reason for this is becausethe appropriate fixing temperature varies depending on the grammage andthickness of the sheet P. Note that the control unit 10 may adjust theconveyance speed of the sheet P based on the determination result. Thisis to decrease the conveyance speed with a thick sheet relative to athin sheet such that thermal energy applied to toner is increased. Notethat the control unit 10 may adjust the voltage value that is to besupplied to a secondary transfer roller pair 19 based on thedetermination result. The reason for this is because the appropriatevoltage value varies depending on the grammage and thickness of thesheet P. Here, the aforementioned processing was mentioned as an exampleof an image formation condition, but the invention is not limited tothis, and any processing may be used as long as it is possible toperform control according to the grammage and thickness of the sheet P.In this way, the ultrasonic wave sensor 30 and the control unit 10function as a sheet determination apparatus. Also, the control unit 10functions as a determination unit for determining the type of sheetbased on a detection signal output from an ultrasonic wave sensor. Also,the control unit 10 may skip the processing for determining the type ofthe sheet P and control the image formation conditions directly based onthe output result of the ultrasonic wave sensor 30.

A photoreceptor drum 11 is uniformly charged at a predeterminedpotential by a charging unit 12. An optical unit 13 emits laser lightthat corresponds to image data to the uniformly-charged photoreceptordrum 11 and forms an electrostatic latent image. A developer 15 forms atoner image by using toner to develop the electrostatic latent imageformed on the photoreceptor drum 11. A primary transfer roller 16transfers the toner image from the photoreceptor drum 11 to theintermediate transfer belt 17. The secondary transfer roller pair 19performs secondary transfer of the toner image formed on theintermediate transfer belt 17 onto the sheet P. The fixing unit 21 meltsand fixes the toner image transferred onto the sheet P while conveyingthe sheet P. After fixing processing is performed by the fixing unit 21,an ejection roller 22 ejects the sheet P.

In FIG. 1, the ultrasonic wave sensor 30 is provided between the pair ofsecondary transfer rollers 19 and the portion at which the conveyancepath from the feed cassette 2 and the conveyance path from the feed tray3 converge. The purpose of this is to make it possible to determine thetype using one ultrasonic wave sensor 30 regardless of whether the sheetP is fed from the feed cassette 2 or the feed tray 3.

Hardware contributing to the operation of the ultrasonic wave sensor 30and the functions of that hardware will be described next with referenceto FIG. 2. The ultrasonic wave transmission unit 31 transmits ultrasonicwaves to the sheet P due to a transmission vibration member vibrating inresponse to a supplied drive signal. The ultrasonic wave reception unit32 generates a reception signal due to a reception vibration membervibrating due to the ultrasonic waves that were transmitted from theultrasonic wave transmission unit 31 and have passed through the sheetP. The ultrasonic waves are attenuated when they pass through the sheetP. In the present embodiment, the ultrasonic wave transmission unit 31transmits ultrasonic waves having a frequency characteristic of 40 kHz,and it is set such that the ultrasonic waves are received by theultrasonic wave reception unit 32. The frequency of the ultrasonic wavesis set in advance. For example, the appropriate range of frequencies isselected according to the configuration, detection accuracy, and thelike of the ultrasonic wave transmission unit 31 and the ultrasonic wavereception unit 32. A transmission control unit 33 has a drive signalgeneration unit 331 that generates a drive signal for transmittingultrasonic waves, and an amplifier 332 that amplifies the drive signaland supplies it to the ultrasonic wave transmission unit 31. A receptioncontrol unit 34 has a detection circuit 342 that detects the ultrasonicwaves received by the ultrasonic wave reception unit 32 as voltages, anAD conversion unit 343 that performs analog-digital conversion on thedetection signal, a peak extraction unit 344 that extracts the peaks ofthe ultrasonic waves, and a storage unit 346 that stores the values ofthe peaks. The control unit 10 reads out the peak values (determinationresults) from the storage unit 346 and uses them to control imageformation conditions such as the conveyance speed and fixing temperaturein the fixing unit.

Next, a series of operations will be described. The control unit 10inputs a measurement start signal indicating the start of measurement tothe drive signal control unit 341. Upon receiving the measurement startsignal, the drive signal control unit 341 instructs the generation ofthe drive signal to the drive signal generation unit 331 in order totransmit ultrasonic waves at a predetermined frequency (e.g., 40 kHz).The drive signal is a pulse wave with a constant period. This isdetermined with consideration given to the fact that the influence ofdisturbances such as reflection waves caused by the sheet P and membersarranged in the periphery of the conveyance path are to be reduced, andthe ultrasonic wave reception unit 32 is to be able to receive mainlydirect waves emitted by the ultrasonic wave transmission unit 31. Thisis because the generation of reflection waves and the amplitude of thecomposite wave composed of the reflection waves generally depend on thewavelength of the ultrasonic waves. There are also cases where a pulsewave with a constant period is referred to as a burst wave. In thepresent embodiment, five pulses of a 40-kHz pulse wave are input to theultrasonic wave transmission unit 31 within a 20-ms period. In this way,the drive signal generation unit 331 generates and outputs a signalhaving a pre-set frequency. The amplifier 332 amplifies the level(voltage value) of the drive signal output by the drive signalgeneration unit 331 and supplies it to the ultrasonic wave transmissionunit 31.

The ultrasonic wave reception unit 32 receives the ultrasonic wavestransmitted from the ultrasonic wave transmission unit 31 and outputs adetection signal to the detection circuit 342 of the reception controlunit 34. The detection circuit 342 has a function of amplifying thedetection signal and a function of rectifying the detection signal. Withthe amplifying function, the amplification rate can vary between a statein which the sheet P is present between the ultrasonic wave transmissionunit 31 and the ultrasonic wave reception unit 32, and a state in whichit does not, but the present invention is not limited to this. Forexample, it is possible to use the same amplification rate in the statein which the sheet P is not present and in the state in which it ispresent. Also, the rectifying function performs half-wave rectification,but the invention is not limited to this, and it is possible to performfull-wave rectification. An A-D conversion unit 343 converts an analogdetection signal generated by the detection circuit 342 into a digitaldetection signal. The A-D conversion unit 343 performs conversion into a12-bit digital signal corresponding to the output of the detectioncircuit 342, but the invention is not limited to this, and it ispossible to perform conversion into an appropriate multi-bit digitalsignal. The peak extraction unit 344 extracts the peaks (local maximums)of the digital signal output from the A-D conversion unit 343. The peakextraction unit 344 stores the peak values extracted at the end of oneinstance of ultrasonic wave measurement in the storage unit 346. Basedon the peak values stored in the storage unit 346, the control unit 10determines the grammage of the sheet P and controls the operation of theimage forming apparatus 1 according to the determination result. Thegrammage mentioned here is the mass per unit area of a sheet, and themass per square meter is represented as (g/m²). A clear correlationrelationship exists between the peak values and the grammage (orthickness).

Accordingly, the control unit 10 can use an equation or a table todetermine the grammage (or thickness) based on the peak values.

The configuration of the ultrasonic wave reception unit 32 of theultrasonic wave sensor 30 will be described with reference to FIGS. 3Ato 3C. FIG. 3A is a perspective view of the ultrasonic wave receptionunit 32, FIG. 3B is a plan view of the ultrasonic wave reception unit32, and FIG. 3C is a cross-sectional view taken along line A-A of theultrasonic wave transmission unit 31 and the ultrasonic wave receptionunit 32.

In general, the image forming apparatus 1 includes a door that opens andcloses in order for the user to manually remove a sheet P if it getsjammed in the internal conveyance path. As described above, theultrasonic wave transmission unit 31 and the ultrasonic wave receptionunit 32 are arranged facing each other on opposite sides of theconveyance path. For this reason, the ultrasonic wave transmission unit31 and the ultrasonic wave reception unit 32 can be arranged at aposition at which it is possible for the user to manually touch themwhen the door is opened. If the user touches at least one of theultrasonic wave transmission unit 31 and the ultrasonic wave receptionunit 32, it may cause a malfunction and the ultrasonic wave detectionaccuracy may decrease. In view of this, with the present embodiment, aprotection member is provided in the ultrasonic wave reception unit 32so as to make it difficult for the user to touch the internal member ofthe ultrasonic wave reception unit 32.

According to FIG. 3A, the ultrasonic wave reception unit 32 has areception equalizer 324 that amplifies ultrasonic waves, and a receptionvibration member 321 that generates a detection signal by vibrating inaccordance with ultrasonic waves. A reception guide 325 is provided inthe periphery of the ultrasonic wave reception unit 32. As shown in FIG.3A, the reception guide 325 functions as a tubular guide member that hasan opening 323 through which the ultrasonic waves pass and guides theultrasonic waves. The reception guide 325 extends in the lengthdirection (z-direction) and reduces unnecessary reflection waves. Thereception guide 325 in this example is a cylindrical guide, and D1indicates the opening dimension. As shown in FIG. 3A, L1 indicates thedistance from the center of the surface of the reception vibrationmember 321 to the plane including a reception guide leading end plane326 (opening plane). Note that the surface of the reception vibrationmember 321 and the reception guide leading end plane 326 are parallelwith the xy plane. L1 is a distance in the length direction(z-direction) of the reception guide 325. The distance L1 is defined asthe reception guide length. Note that the reception equalizer 324 may beomitted.

Two protection members 328 are provided in the reception guide 325,between the opening plane of the reception guide 325 and the receptionvibration member 321. As shown in FIG. 3A, the two protection members328 are members that are approximate rectangular cuboids and areprovided parallel to the xy plane. Note that the shapes of theprotection members 328 may be columnar. Thus, the protection members 328may be columnar members or plate-shaped members provided parallel to theopening plane. The space between the two protection members 328 and thespace in the periphery of the two protection members 328 function asholes/openings/apertures through which the ultrasonic waves pass. InFIG. 3A, L2 indicates the distance from the center of the two protectionmembers 328 to the plane including the reception guide leading end plane326. The distance L2 is referred to as the protection member distanceand is used as a parameter indicating the arrangement position of theprotection members 328. Here, the plane including the reception guideleading end plane 326, or in other words, the opening portion of thereception guide 325, is defined as a virtual plane. A line 327 thatpasses through the center of the reception vibration member 321 and isperpendicular to the surface of the reception vibration member 321 is avirtual line that does not actually exist in the reception vibrationmember 321. The perpendicular line 327 is a reference for unambiguouslydetermining the distance L1 and the distance L2 from the surface of thereception vibration member 321 to the reception guide leading end plane326. The perpendicular line 327 is parallel with the z-axis direction.

As shown in FIG. 3A and FIG. 3C, it is possible to give the ultrasonicwaves a direction characteristic by surrounding the reception vibrationmember 321 with the reception guide 325. Furthermore, it is possible toreduce the influence of the reflection waves from the peripheral membersusing the reception guide 325. By arranging the protective members 328with respect to the reception guide 325, it is possible to suppress useraccess from the reception guide leading end plane 326 to the receptionvibration member 321, as well as the intrusion of debris or the likeinto the reception guide 325. According to this, the reception vibrationmember 321 and the reception equalizer 324 can be protected.

As shown in FIG. 3C, the reception guide 325 is arranged such that theinner circumferential face of the reception guide 325 is in contact withthe ultrasonic wave reception unit 32. However, as long as it ispossible to suppress user access and the intrusion of debris and thelike, the structure in which the ultrasonic wave reception unit 32 andthe inner circumferential face of the reception guide 325 are in contactis not mandatory. Resin, for example, can be used as the material forthe reception guide 325 and the protection members 328, but othermaterials such as metal may be used as long as an effect similar to thatof the present embodiment can be obtained.

The relationship between the position of the protection members 328 andultrasonic waves that have passed through a sheet P will be describednext with reference to FIG. 4. The results indicated in FIG. 4 wereobtained using a sheet P with a grammage of 60 g/m². The horizontal axisin FIG. 4 indicates the arrangement position of the protection members328. Here, the arrangement position of the protection members 328 atwhich the distance L2 is half of the distance L1 is referred to as thecenter. The arrangement position of the protection members 328 isbrought closer to the reception guide leading end plane 326 as it shiftsin the positive direction from the center, and it is brought closer tothe reception vibration member 321 as it shifts in the negativedirection. The numbers written on the horizontal axis are in units ofmillimeters. The vertical axis indicates the transmission coefficient ofthe ultrasonic waves. The transmission coefficient is the ratio betweenthe output of the reception control unit 34 at the time when no sheet Pis present between the ultrasonic wave transmission unit 31 and theultrasonic wave reception unit 32, and the output of the receptioncontrol unit 34 after receiving the ultrasonic waves that have passedthrough the sheet P. The solid line indicates the transmissioncoefficient at the time when there are protection members 328. Thebroken line indicates the transmission coefficient at the time whenthere are no protection members 328.

According to FIG. 4, it can be understood that the transmissioncoefficient significantly changes depending on the arrangement positionof the protection members 328. Also, the transmission coefficient in thestate in which there are no protection members 328 is around 0.049. FromFIG. 4, it can be understood that by arranging the protection members328 in the center (L2=L1/2), a transmission characteristic similar tothe transmission characteristic in the case where there are noprotection members 328 can be obtained. In other words, by arranging thetwo protection members 328 in the center, it is possible to reduce theinfluence of the two protection members 328 on the detection signal forthe ultrasonic waves.

The reason for this will be described next with reference to FIGS. 5A to5C. Some of the ultrasonic waves output from the ultrasonic wavetransmission unit 31 are incident on the ultrasonic wave reception unit32 after being reflected several times. For example, as shown in FIG.5A, an ultrasonic wave that has passed through the sheet P is reflectedby a protection member 328, is furthermore reflected by the sheet P, andis received by the ultrasonic wave reception unit 32. This is referredto as reflection wave W1. On the other hand, an ultrasonic wave that haspassed through the sheet P is reflected by the surface of the ultrasonicwave reception unit 32, is furthermore reflected by the protectionmember 328, and is received by the ultrasonic wave reception unit 32.This is referred to as reflection wave W2. As shown in FIG. 5B, sincethe amplitudes of the reflection wave W1 and the reflection wave W2 areapproximately the same, if the phases of the reflection wave W1 and thereflection wave W2 differ by 180 degrees, the reflection wave W1 and thereflection wave W2 cancel each other out. This is a state in which thetwo protection members 328 are arranged such that L2=L1/2. The reasonwhy the phases of W1 and W2 are shifted 180 degrees is because W1 issubjected to fixed-end reflection by the protection member 328 andfree-end reflection by the sheet P, whereas W2 is subjected to fixed-endreflection by the vibration member 321 and fixed-end reflection onceagain by the protection member 328.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 5C, if the phase difference betweenthe reflection wave W1 and the reflection wave W2 is shifted from 180degrees, a composite wave W3 composed of the reflection wave W1 and thereflection wave W2 appears. For this reason, the transmissioncoefficient varies in comparison to the time when no protection members328 are present. Incidentally, FIG. 5C shows waveforms observed at atime when the two protection members 328 are arranged at a position atwhich L2=L1/2+λ/64. λ is the wavelength of the ultrasonic waves. Thus,by using a position close to the center as the arrangement position ofthe two protection members 328, the amplitude of the composite waveformed from multiple reflection waves can be made extremely small.

Thus, in the present embodiment, the distance L2 in the length directionof the reception guide 325 from the opening plane of the reception guide325 to the center of the protection members 328 is half of the length(may be called as distance) L1 in the length direction of the receptionguide 325 from the opening plane of the reception guide 325 to thesurface of the reception vibration member 321. That is to say, bysetting the arrangement position of the protection members 328 to thecenter (L2=L1/2), a transmission coefficient is obtained that is equalto the transmission coefficient in the case where no protection members328 are present. In other words, it is possible to protect the receptionvibration member 321 without changing the detection characteristic ofthe ultrasonic wave sensor 30. This relation can be rephrased. On a linethat passes through the center of the reception vibration member 321 asthe second vibration member and is perpendicular to the surface of thereception vibration member 321, the length from the plane of thereception guide 325 as the second guide member to a surface of theprotection members 328 as the second protection member on the leadingend plane side of the reception guide 325 is equal to the length fromthe surface of the reception vibration member 321 to a surface of theprotection members 328 on the second vibration member side.

In this way, the position of the protection members 328 has an effect onthe accuracy of detecting the ultrasonic waves (and by extension, on thegrammage determination accuracy), but the detection accuracy requiredfor the ultrasonic wave sensor 30 depends on the application mode of theultrasonic wave sensor 30. For example, it is understood from the graphin FIG. 4 that in order to set the accuracy of detecting the sheet P tobe within 1% (error), the protection members 328 need to be arrangedwithin a range of being ±0.15 mm from the center. Since the frequency fof the ultrasonic waves is 40 kHz, the wavelength λ is approximately 8.6mm. The ratio with respect to the wavelength λ at 0.15 mm is0.15÷8.6≈0.0174. This is approximately 1/57.2. Accordingly, a detectionthat is accurate to within 1% can be realized within approximately1/57.2 of the wavelength λ that was calculated using the frequency f ofthe ultrasonic waves. The detection that is accurate to within 1% ismerely an example and it may be based on experience. Thus, the distanceL2 may be shifted from the halfway point of the distance L1, within arange in which the required detection accuracy for the ultrasonic wavesis satisfied. That is to say, “half” need not be perfectly half, and itis sufficient that it is approximately half. Also, the shift amount ofthe center of the protection members 328 from the halfway point of thedistance L1 need only be a shift amount within a range of ± 1/64 thewavelength of the ultrasonic waves, for example. Thus, a length that isroughly half falls within a range of L1/2± 1/64 the wavelength of theultrasonic waves transmitted from the first vibration member.

In the present embodiment, the configuration of the protection members328 shown in FIGS. 3A to 3C was described as an example. In FIGS. 3A to3C, the protection members 328 are arranged at a position away from theline connecting the center of the surface of the reception vibrationmember 321 and the center of the surface of the transmission vibrationmember. The purpose of this is to guide more direct waves from among theultrasonic waves to the ultrasonic wave reception unit 32.

However, as shown in FIGS. 6A to 6C, a configuration may be employed inwhich one protection member 328 is arranged on the central axis of thereception vibration member 321. Note that FIG. 6A is a perspective viewof the ultrasonic wave reception unit 32. FIG. 6B is a plan view. FIG.6C is a cross-sectional view taken along line A-A of the ultrasonic wavetransmission unit 31 and the ultrasonic wave reception unit 32.

With this kind of configuration as well, the relationship between thearrangement position of the protection member 328 and the transmissioncoefficient is similar to the characteristic shown in FIG. 4.Accordingly, even if one protection member 328 is arranged in thecenter, the transmission coefficient in the case where no protectionmembers 328 are present is obtained. Note that there are cases where thedimension in the x direction of the protection member 328 needs to beincreased in order to set the strength of the protection member 328 to atarget strength. In such a case, there is a possibility that thereception intensity of the ultrasonic waves will decrease. This isbecause the position at which the intensity of the ultrasonic waves isthe greatest is on the central axis of the reception vibration member321. Accordingly, by arranging the protection member 328 such thatnothing is on the central axis of the reception vibration member 321 asshown in FIGS. 3A to 3C, the ultrasonic wave reception unit 32 canreceive the ultrasonic waves transmitted from the ultrasonic wavetransmission unit 31 with accuracy.

Second Embodiment

The first embodiment described an example in which the protectionmembers 328 are arranged with respect to the ultrasonic wave receptionunit 32. The second embodiment will describe an example in whichprotection members are arranged in both the ultrasonic wave transmissionunit 31 and the ultrasonic wave reception unit 32. Note thatconfigurations that are similar to those of the first embodiment such asthat of the sheet determination apparatus are omitted so as to simplifythe description.

The configurations of the ultrasonic wave transmission unit 31 and theultrasonic wave reception unit 32 of the ultrasonic wave sensor 30 inthe second embodiment are shown in FIGS. 7A to 7C. FIG. 7A is aperspective view of the ultrasonic wave transmission unit 31. FIG. 7B isa plan view of the ultrasonic wave transmission unit 31. FIG. 7C is across-sectional view taken along line A-A which shows the positionalrelationship between the ultrasonic wave transmission unit 31 and theultrasonic wave reception unit 32. It is assumed that these units arearranged at a position at which the user can touch the ultrasonic wavetransmission unit 31 and the ultrasonic wave reception unit 32 when theuser opens the door of the main body. Note that the ultrasonic wavetransmission unit 31 and the ultrasonic wave reception unit 32 may bearranged at a position at which they are difficult to touch.

The transmission vibration member 311 is a member that transmitsultrasonic waves by vibrating according to a drive signal supplied fromthe transmission control unit 33. A transmission guide 315 is providedin the periphery of the ultrasonic wave transmission unit 31. As shownin FIG. 7A, the transmission guide 315 functions as a tubular guidemember that has an opening 313 through which ultrasonic waves pass andguides the ultrasonic waves. The transmission guide 315 extends in thelength direction (z-direction) and reduces unnecessary reflection waves.The transmission guide 315 in this example is a cylindrical guide, andD2 indicates the opening dimension. As shown in FIG. 5A, L3 indicatesthe distance from the center of the circular surface of the transmissionvibration member 311 to a plane including a transmission guide leadingend plane 316 (opening plane). Note that the surface of the transmissionvibration member 311 and the transmission guide leading end plane 316are parallel with the xy plane. L3 is the distance in the lengthdirection (z-direction) of the transmission guide 315. The distance L3is defined as the transmission guide length. A transmission equalizer314 is a member for amplifying the ultrasonic waves transmitted by thetransmission vibration member 311. Note that it is possible to transmitultrasonic waves using a configuration that does not include thetransmission equalizer 314, as long as the transmission vibration member311 is present.

Two protection members 318 are provided in the transmission guide 315,between the opening plane of the transmission guide 315 and thetransmission vibration member 311. As shown in FIG. 7A, the twoprotection members 318 are members that are approximate rectangularcuboids and are provided parallel with the xy plane. Note that theshapes of the protection members 318 may be columnar. Thus, theprotection members 318 may be columnar members or plate-shaped membersprovided parallel to the opening plane. In FIG. 7A, L4 indicates thedistance from the center of the two protection members 318 to the planeincluding the transmission guide leading end plane 316. The distance L4is referred to as the protection member distance and is used as aparameter indicating the arrangement position of the protection members318. Here, the plane including the transmission guide leading end plane316, or in other words, the opening portion of the transmission guide315, is defined as a virtual plane. A line 317 that passes through thecenter of the transmission vibration member 311 and is perpendicular tothe surface of the transmission vibration member 311 is a virtual linethat does not actually exist in the transmission vibration member 311.The perpendicular line 317 is a reference for unambiguously determiningthe distance L2 and the distance L1 from the surface of the transmissionvibration member 311 to the transmission guide leading end plane 316.The perpendicular line 317 is parallel with the z-axis direction.

As shown in FIG. 7A and FIG. 7C, it is possible to restrict thepropagation direction of the ultrasonic waves and give the ultrasonicwaves a direction characteristic by surrounding the transmissionvibration member 311 with the transmission guide 315. By arranging theprotection members 318 with respect to the transmission guide 315, it ispossible to suppress user access from the transmission guide leading endplane 316 to the transmission vibration member 311, as well as debrisand the like intruding in the transmission guide 315. According to this,the transmission vibration member 311 and the transmission equalizer 314can be protected.

As shown in FIG. 7C, the transmission guide 315 is arranged such thatthe inner circumferential face of the transmission guide 315 is incontact with the ultrasonic wave transmission unit 31. However, thestructure in which the ultrasonic wave transmission unit 31 and theinner circumferential face of the transmission guide 315 are in contactis not mandatory as long as it is possible to suppress user access andthe intrusion of debris and the like. For example, it is possible to useresin as the material for the transmission guide 315 and the protectionmembers 318, but other materials such as metal may be used as long as aneffect similar to that of the present embodiment can be obtained.

The relationship between the position of the protection members 318 and328 and ultrasonic waves that have passed through a sheet P will bedescribed next with reference to FIG. 8. The results indicated in FIG. 8were obtained using a sheet P with a grammage of 60 g/m². The horizontalaxis in FIG. 8 indicates the arrangement position of the protectionmembers 318 and 328. Here, the position at which the protection members328 are arranged such that the distance L2 is half of the distance L1and the protection members 318 are arranged such that the distance L4 ishalf of the distance L3 is referred to as the center. The arrangementposition of the protection member 328 is brought closer to the receptionguide leading end plane 326 as it shifts in the positive direction fromthe center, and it is brought closer to the reception vibration member321 as it shifts in the negative direction. Also, the arrangementposition of the protection member 318 is brought closer to thetransmission guide leading end plane 316 as it shifts in the positivedirection from the center, and it is brought closer to the transmissionvibration member 311 as it shifts in the negative direction. Theprotection members 318 and 328 are moved by the same amount. The numberswritten on the horizontal axis are in units of millimeters. The verticalaxis indicates the transmission coefficient of the ultrasonic waves. Thetransmission coefficient is the ratio between the output of thereception control unit 34 at the time when no sheet P is present betweenthe ultrasonic wave transmission unit 31 and the ultrasonic wavereception unit 32, and the output of the reception control unit 34 afterreceiving the ultrasonic waves that have passed through the sheet P. Thesolid line indicates the transmission coefficient at the time when theprotection members 318 and 328 are present. The broken line indicatesthe transmission coefficient at the time when the protection members 318and 328 are not present.

According to FIG. 8, it can be understood that the transmissioncoefficient significantly changes depending on the arrangement positionsof the protection members 318 and 328. Also, the transmissioncoefficient in the state in which the protection members 318 and 328 arenot present is around 0.049. From FIG. 8, it can be understood that byarranging the protection members 318 and 328 in the center (L4=L3/2,L2=L1/2), a transmission characteristic can be obtained that is similarto the transmission characteristic in the case where the protectionmembers 318 and 328 are present. In other words, by arranging the twoprotection members 318 and 328 in the center, it is possible to reducethe influence that the two protection members 318 and 328 have on theultrasonic wave detection signal. This relation between L3 and L4 can bealso rephrased. On a line that passes through the center of thetransmission vibration member 311 as the first vibration member and isperpendicular to the surface of the transmission vibration member 311,the length from the plane of the transmission guide 315 as the firstguide member to a surface of the protection members 318 as the firstprotection member on the leading end plane side of the transmissionguide 315 is equal to the length from the surface of the transmissionvibration member 311 to a surface of the protection members 318 on thetransmission vibration member 311.

In this way, the distance (L2, L4) in the length direction of the guidemember from the opening plane of the guide member to the center of theprotection member is half of the distance (L1, L3) in the lengthdirection of the guide member from the opening plane of the guide memberto the surface of the whichever of the transmission vibration member andthe reception vibration member is provided in the guide member, or thedistance is shifted from the halfway point within a range in which therequired accuracy for detecting the ultrasonic waves is satisfied. Forexample, regarding the ultrasonic wave transmission unit 31, thedistance L4 in the length direction of the transmission guide 315 fromthe opening plane of the transmission guide 315 to the center of theprotection member 318 is half of the distance L3 in the length directionof the transmission guide 315 from the opening plane of the transmissionguide 315 to the surface of the transmission vibration member 311. Inother words, the arrangement position of the two protection members 318is set to the center (L4=L3/2), and thereby a transmission coefficientis obtained that is equal to the transmission coefficient in the casewhere no protection members 318 are present. In other words, it ispossible to protect the transmission vibration member 311 withoutchanging the detection characteristic of the ultrasonic wave sensor 30.As described in the first embodiment, the distance L4 may be shiftedfrom the halfway point of the distance L3, within a range in which therequired accuracy for detecting the ultrasonic waves is satisfied. Also,the shift amount of the center of the protection members 318 from thehalfway point of the distance L3 need only be a shift amount within arange of ± 1/64 of the wavelength of the ultrasonic waves, for example.

Also, in comparison to FIG. 4, in FIG. 8, it can be understood that theratio of the change in the transmission coefficient depending on thearrangement position is smaller. For this reason, by arranging theprotection member 318 and the protection member 328 such that they arein the same relationship with respect to the vibration member and theopening plane, it is possible to reduce the precision required for thearrangement positions of the protection members.

Also, in the second embodiment, two protection members are provided onthe transmission side and on the reception side. In particular, in FIGS.7A to 7C, the protection members 328 and 318 are arranged at a positionaway from the line connecting the center of the surface of the receptionvibration member 321 and the center of the surface of the transmissionvibration member 311. This is because more direct waves from among theultrasonic waves are guided to the ultrasonic wave reception unit 32.Note that one protection member may be arranged on both the transmissionside and the reception side, and it is possible for two protectionmembers to be arranged on one side and one protection member to bearranged on the other side. Note that in FIGS. 6A to 6C, one protectionmember is arranged on the line connecting the center of the surface ofthe reception vibration member 321 and the center of the surface of thetransmission vibration member 311, but the one protection member may bearranged at a position away from the line.

Third Embodiment

The first embodiment described a configuration in which the protectionmembers 328 are arranged with respect to the ultrasonic wave receptionunit 32. The second embodiment described a configuration in whichprotection members are arranged not only at the ultrasonic wavereception unit 32, but also at the ultrasonic wave transmission unit 31.The third embodiment will describe a configuration in which theprotection member 318 is arranged only at the ultrasonic wavetransmission unit 31. Note that the description of configurationssimilar to those of the first embodiment and the second embodiment willnot be repeated.

The configuration of the ultrasonic wave transmission unit 31 of theultrasonic wave sensor 30 will be described below with reference toFIGS. 9A to 9C. FIG. 9A is a perspective view of the ultrasonic wavetransmission unit 31. FIG. 9B is a plan view of the ultrasonic wavetransmission unit 31. FIG. 9C is a cross-sectional view taken along lineA-A which shows the positional relationship between the ultrasonic wavetransmission unit 31 and the ultrasonic wave reception unit 32. Bycomparing FIGS. 9A, 9B, 7A, and 7B, it can be understood that theconfiguration of the ultrasonic wave transmission unit 31 is asdescribed above. Note that upon comparing FIGS. 9C and 7C, it can beunderstood that no protection member 328 is attached to the ultrasonicwave reception unit 32. Thus, in the third embodiment the protectionmember 318 is arranged only at the ultrasonic wave transmission unit 31.

The relationship between the arrangement position of the protectionmember 318 and the transmission coefficient in the third embodiment willbe described next with reference to FIG. 10. The grammage of the sheet Pis 60 g/m². The horizontal axis in FIG. 10 indicates the arrangementposition of the protection members 318. Here, the arrangement positionof the protection members 318 at which the distance L4 is half of thedistance L3 is referred to as the center. The arrangement position ofthe protection members 318 is brought closer to the transmission guideleading end plane 316 as it shifts in the positive direction from thecenter, and it is brought closer to the transmission vibration member311 as it shifts in the negative direction. The numbers written on thehorizontal axis are in units of millimeters. The vertical axis indicatesthe transmission coefficient of the ultrasonic waves.

According to FIG. 10, it can be understood that the transmissioncoefficient changes depending on the arrangement position of theprotection member 318. Also, the transmission coefficient of the sheet Pin the state in which no protection member 318 is present is around0.049. Accordingly, by arranging the protection member 318 in the center(L4=L3/2), the influence of the protection member 318 can be madeextremely small. Note that the arrangement position can be offset withina certain range from the center in accordance with the requireddetection accuracy. This matter has been described above.

By arranging the protection member 318 at the center, the influence thatthe protection member 318 has on the reception intensity of theultrasonic waves can be reduced and the ultrasonic wave vibrationmembers can be protected from foreign objects. Note that in the thirdembodiment, two protection members 318 were employed, but one protectionmember may be employed as described with reference to FIGS. 6A to 6C.

Other Remarks

The first embodiment to the third embodiment described examples ofemploying one or two rectangular cuboid protection members. However, adifferent number may be provided and the protection members may havedifferent shapes. FIGS. 11A to 11D are plan views showing examples ofguides and protection members. As illustrated in the first embodiment tothird embodiment, the thickness in the z direction of the protectionmembers may be a constant width.

As shown in FIG. 11A, there may be three or more protection members 318and 328. As shown in FIG. 11B, cross-shaped protection members 318 and328 may be employed. As shown in FIG. 11C, protection members 318 and328 that are obtained by providing a circular or rectangular hole in thecenter of a plate-shaped main member may be employed. As shown in FIG.11D, net-shaped or grid-shaped protection members 318 and 328 may beemployed. Note that regardless of the shape, the arrangement position ofthe protection members 318 and 328 are positions corresponding to halfof the distances L1 and L3 from the opening plane of the guide to thevibration member, or are positions that have been shifted somewhat inthe z-direction from the halfway point. Thus, the influence that theprotection members 318 and 328 have on the reception intensity of theultrasonic waves can be reduced and the ultrasonic wave vibrationmembers can be protected from foreign objects.

In the second embodiment, the shape and number of the protection members318 and 328 match. The guide and the protection members can be used incommon in the ultrasonic wave transmission unit 31 and the ultrasonicwave reception unit 32, which is effective for reducing cost. Also,since the ultrasonic wave transmission unit 31 and the ultrasonic wavereception unit 32 can also have the same parts, if the shape and numberof the protection members 318 and 328 match, it is effective forreducing cost. Note that it is not mandatory that the shape and numberof the protection members 318 and 328 match, and the shape and number ofthe protection members 318 and 328 may be different. Note that thearrangement position of the protection members 318 and 328 are positionscorresponding to half of the distances L1 and L3 from the opening planeof the guide to the vibration member.

It was mentioned that the protection members are provided on only one ofthe ultrasonic wave transmission unit 31 and the ultrasonic wavereception unit 32. In such a case, the one of the ultrasonic wavetransmission unit 31 and the ultrasonic wave reception unit 32 that isnot provided with a protection member may be arranged at a position atwhich it is difficult for the user to touch with his or her fingers.Also, the ultrasonic wave transmission unit 31 may be rotated using amotor so as to be moved to a position at which the user cannot touch itwith his or her fingers.

By employing the aforementioned ultrasonic wave sensor in a sheetdetermination apparatus that determines the type of a sheet, theultrasonic wave sensor can be protected and the accuracy of determiningthe type of sheet can be maintained. Also, this kind of sheetdetermination apparatus may be applied to the image forming apparatus 1.In such a case, the control unit 10 functions as a control unit thatcontrols the image formation condition used by the image forming unitaccording to the determination result of the sheet determinationapparatus. According to this, it is possible to set the appropriateimage formation condition (sheet conveyance speed or fixing temperaturein the fixing unit 21) according to the type (grammage or thickness) ofthe sheet. As a result, toner images without irregularities can beformed on sheets having different types as well.

The ultrasonic wave sensor in the present embodiment may be employed inan image scanning apparatus. There are cases where an automatic documentfeeding apparatus of an image scanning apparatus employs an ultrasonicwave sensor in order to detect the feeding of overlapping sheets. Bysuppressing the intrusion of foreign objects in this kind of ultrasonicwave sensor as well, the detection accuracy of the ultrasonic wavesensor can be maintained and malfunction can be suppressed.

The present embodiment described a cylindrical guide member whosecross-sectional area is constant in the xy-direction, but it is possibleto use a cylindrical guide member whose cross-sectional area in the xydirection gradually changes. For example, the cross-sectional area inthe xy-direction may increase or decrease from the vibration member sideto the opening side. A guide member with this kind of tapering (e.g.horn shape, reversed horn shape or sandglass like shape havingconstricted part) may be employed. The cross-sectional shape may becircular, elliptical, rectangular, or the like. That is, in a directionon a line that passes through the center of the vibration member and isperpendicular to a surface on a side of the vibration member thatreceives or transmits ultrasonic waves, an aperture size(cross-sectional area) of the guide member at a first position where theprotection portion is provided with the guide member is smaller than anaperture size of the guide member at a second position where theprotection portion is not provided with the guide member. In otherwords, an inner diameter of the guide member at the first position issmaller than that of the guide member at the second position. FIGS.12A-12D show examples of these arrangements. FIGS. 12A and 12B are plainviews of the ultrasonic wave transmission unit 31 and the ultrasonicwave reception unit 32. FIG. 12C is A-A sectional view corresponding tothe plain view of FIG. 12A. FIG. 12D is A-A sectional view correspondingto the plain view of FIG. 12B. In FIG. 12A, an aperture 390 is anaperture corresponding to a first position P1 shown in FIG. 12C. Anaperture 391 is an aperture corresponding to a second position P2 shownin FIG. 12C. In FIG. 12C, shapes of the transmission guide 315 and thereception guide 325 are reversed horn shapes. In FIG. 12B, an aperture392 is an aperture corresponding to a first position P1 shown in FIG.12D. An aperture 393 is an aperture corresponding to a second positionP2 shown in FIG. 12D. In FIG. 12D, shapes of the transmission guide 315and the reception guide 325 are sandglass like shapes. A constrictedpart of the guide member works as a protection member or a protectionportion. That is, the guide member and the protection member may beintegrated or unified. The constricted part of the guide member makes itdifficult for a user to touch the vibrating member. The aperture shapemay be circle or more complicated shape.

In a direction on a line that passes through the center of the vibrationmember and is perpendicular to a surface on a side of the vibrationmember that transmits or receives ultrasonic waves, a part of thevibration member may overlap the protection member.

The image formation condition may be a conveyance speed of the sheet ora fixing temperature for fixing a toner image onto the sheet or avoltage value for transferring a toner image onto the sheet.

While the present invention has been described with reference toexemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is notlimited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments. The scope of thefollowing claims is to be accorded the broadest interpretation so as toencompass all such modifications and equivalent structures andfunctions.

This application claims the benefit of Japanese Patent Application Nos.2013-162796, filed Aug. 5, 2013, and 2014-133248, filed Jun. 27, 2014,and 2014-155778 filed Jul. 31, 2014 which are hereby incorporated byreference herein in their entirety.

1.-27. (canceled)
 28. An ultrasonic wave transmission unit comprising: avibration member that vibrates so as to transmit ultrasonic waves; aguide member that guides ultrasonic waves transmitted from the vibrationmember; and a protection member that protects the vibration memberagainst an operator touching the vibration member and that is providedin the guide member.
 29. The ultrasonic wave transmission unit accordingto claim 28, wherein, in viewing from an exit of the ultrasonic waves tothe vibration member along with a direction on a line that passesthrough the center of the vibration member and is perpendicular to asurface on a side of the vibration member that transmits ultrasonicwaves, a part of the vibration member overlaps the protection member.30. The ultrasonic wave transmission unit according to claim 29,wherein, in viewing from the exit of the ultrasonic waves to thevibration member along with the direction on the line that passesthrough the center of the vibration member and is perpendicular to thesurface on the side of the vibration member that transmits ultrasonicwaves, the vibration member is divided into a plurality of areas by theprotection member.
 31. The ultrasonic wave transmission unit accordingto claim 29, wherein the protection member is arranged at a positionaway from the line that passes through the center of the vibrationmember and is perpendicular to the surface of the vibration member. 32.The ultrasonic wave transmission unit according to claim 29, wherein, onthe line that passes through the center of the vibration member and isperpendicular to the surface of the vibration member, the distance froma plane including a leading end plane of the guide member to the centerof the protection member is approximately half of the distance from theplane to the surface.
 33. The ultrasonic wave transmission unitaccording to claim 32, wherein the protection member is providedparallel to the plane of the guide member.
 34. The ultrasonic wavetransmission unit according to claim 33, wherein, on the line thatpasses through the center of the vibration member and is perpendicularto the surface of the vibration member, the distance from the plane ofthe guide member to a surface of the protection member on a side thatfaces the leading end plane of the guide member is equal to the distancefrom the surface of the vibration member to a surface of the protectionmember on a side that faces the vibration member.
 35. The ultrasonicwave transmission unit according to claim 32, wherein a distance that isapproximately half falls within a range of half of the distance from theplane to the surface ± 1/64 the wavelength of ultrasonic wavestransmitted from the vibration member.
 36. The ultrasonic wavetransmission unit according to claim 28, wherein the protection memberincludes a hole through which ultrasonic waves pass.
 37. The ultrasonicwave transmission unit according to claim 28, wherein one or moremembers are provided as the protection member.
 38. An ultrasonic wavereception unit comprising: a vibration member that vibrates by receivingultrasonic waves; a guide member that guides ultrasonic waves to thevibration member; and a protection member that protects the vibrationmember against an operator touching the vibration member and that isprovided in the guide member.
 39. The ultrasonic wave reception unitaccording to claim 38, wherein, in viewing from an entrance of theultrasonic waves to the vibration member along with a direction on aline that passes through the center of the vibration member and isperpendicular to a surface on a side of the vibration member thatreceives ultrasonic waves, a part of the vibration member overlaps theprotection member.
 40. The ultrasonic wave reception unit according toclaim 39, wherein, in viewing from the entrance of the ultrasonic wavesto the vibration member along with the direction on the line that passesthrough the center of the vibration member and is perpendicular to thesurface on the side of the vibration member that receives ultrasonicwaves, the vibration member is divided into a plurality of areas by theprotection member.
 41. The ultrasonic wave reception unit according toclaim 39, wherein the protection member is arranged at a position awayfrom the line that passes through the center of the vibration member andis perpendicular to the surface of the vibration member.
 42. Theultrasonic wave reception unit according to claim 39, wherein, on theline that passes through the center of the vibration member and isperpendicular to the surface of the vibration member, the distance froma plane including a leading end plane of the guide member to the centerof the protection member is approximately half of the distance from theplane to the surface.
 43. The ultrasonic wave reception unit accordingto claim 42, wherein the protection member is provided parallel to theplane of the guide member.
 44. The ultrasonic wave reception unitaccording to claim 43, wherein, on the line that passes through thecenter of the vibration member and is perpendicular to the surface ofthe vibration member, the distance from the plane of the guide member toa surface of the protection member on a side that faces the leading endplane of the guide member is equal to the distance from the surface ofthe vibration member to a surface of the protection member on a sidethat faces the vibration member.
 45. The ultrasonic wave reception unitaccording to claim 42, wherein a distance that is approximately halffalls within a range of half of the distance from the plane to thesurface ± 1/64 the wavelength of ultrasonic waves received by thevibration member.
 46. The ultrasonic wave reception unit according toclaim 38, wherein the protection member includes a hole through whichultrasonic waves pass.
 47. The ultrasonic wave reception unit accordingto claim 38, wherein one or more members are provided as the protectionmember.
 48. A sheet determination apparatus for determining a type of asheet, the sheet determination apparatus comprising: an ultrasonic wavesensor that includes: a transmission unit including a transmissionvibration member that vibrates so as to transmit ultrasonic waves and atransmission guide member that guides ultrasonic waves transmitted fromthe transmission vibration member to the sheet, and a transmissionprotection member that protects the transmission vibration memberagainst an operator touching the transmission vibration member and thatis provided in the transmission guide member; and a reception unit thatreceives ultrasonic waves that have been transmitted from thetransmission vibration member and attenuated via a sheet; and adetermination unit that determines the type of the sheet based on theultrasonic waves received by the reception unit.
 49. The sheetdetermination apparatus according to claim 48, wherein the receptionunit includes: a reception vibration member that vibrates by receivingultrasonic waves that have been transmitted from the transmissionvibration member and attenuated via a sheet; a reception guide memberthat guides ultrasonic waves attenuated via the sheet to the receptionvibration member; and a reception protection member provided in thereception guide member that protects the reception vibration memberagainst an operator touching the reception vibration member.
 50. Thesheet determination apparatus according to claim 48, wherein the type ofthe sheet is the grammage or thickness of the sheet.
 51. A sheetdetermination apparatus for determining a type of a sheet, the sheetdetermination apparatus comprising: an ultrasonic wave sensor thatincludes: a transmission unit that transmits ultrasonic waves; and areception unit including a reception vibration member that vibrates byreceiving ultrasonic waves that have been transmitted from thetransmission unit and attenuated via a sheet and a reception guidemember that guides ultrasonic waves attenuated via the sheet to thereception vibration member, and a reception protection member thatprotects the reception vibration member against an operator touching thereception vibration member and that is provided in the reception guidemember; and a determination unit that determines the type of the sheetbased on ultrasonic waves received by the reception unit.
 52. An imageforming apparatus comprising: an ultrasonic wave sensor that includes: atransmission unit including a transmission vibration member thatvibrates so as to transmit ultrasonic waves and a transmission guidemember that guides ultrasonic waves transmitted from the transmissionvibration member to the sheet, and a transmission protection member thatprotects the transmission vibration member against an operator touchingthe transmission vibration member and that is provided in thetransmission guide member; and a reception unit that receives ultrasonicwaves that have been transmitted from the transmission vibration memberand attenuated via a sheet; an image forming unit that forms an image ona sheet; and a control unit that controls an image formation conditionused by the image forming unit according to ultrasonic waves received bythe reception unit.
 53. The image forming apparatus according to claim52, wherein the reception unit includes: a reception vibration memberthat vibrates by receiving ultrasonic waves that have been transmittedfrom the transmission vibration member and attenuated via a sheet; areception guide member that guides ultrasonic waves attenuated via thesheet to the reception vibration member; and a reception protectionmember provided in the reception guide member that protects thereception vibration member against an operator touching the receptionvibration member and that is provided in the reception guide member. 54.The image forming apparatus according to claim 52, wherein the imageformation condition is a conveyance speed of the sheet or a fixingtemperature for fixing a toner image onto the sheet or a voltage valuefor transferring a toner image onto the sheet.
 55. An image formingapparatus comprising: an ultrasonic wave sensor that includes: atransmission unit that transmits ultrasonic waves; and a reception unitincluding a reception vibration member that vibrates by receivingultrasonic waves that have been transmitted from the transmission unitand attenuated via a sheet and a reception guide member that guidesultrasonic waves attenuated via the sheet to the reception vibrationmember, and a reception protection member that protects the receptionvibration member against an operator touching the reception vibrationmember and that is provided in the reception guide member; an imageforming unit that forms an image on a sheet; and a control unit thatcontrols an image formation condition used by the image forming unitaccording to ultrasonic waves received by the reception unit.
 56. Anultrasonic wave transmission unit comprising: a vibration member thatvibrates so as to transmit ultrasonic waves; and a guide member thatguides ultrasonic waves transmitted from the vibration member, whereinthe guide member includes a protection portion that protects thevibration member against an operator touching the vibration member. 57.An ultrasonic wave reception unit comprising: a vibration member thatvibrates by receiving ultrasonic waves; and a guide member that guidesultrasonic waves to the vibration member, wherein the guide memberincludes a protection portion that protects the vibration member againstan operator touching the vibration member.